Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneLSU moved to No. 5 in the BCS rankings after beating Alabama on Saturday.

Baton Rouge - Welcome to my film study of the LSU-Alabama game.

It turned out to be perhaps the biggest victory in Coach Les Miles' tenure, at least in the neighborhood of the BCS title victory against Ohio State.

Because of the implications, the rankings and the Les Miles-Nick Saban factor. It was clear that Miles outcoached Saban on the day with gutsy fourth-down calls and halftime adjustments to the passing game.

LSU's general strategy was to spread Alabama out and try to run from that formation. The Tigers' most common formation was four wide outs and one running back and 11 times they ran the ball. They used running plays four times in the seven three-receiver sets.

The Tigers did next to nothing in the first half but the passing game came alive in the second with Jordan Jefferson first scoring toss since the season-opener against North Carolina, picture-perfect 75-yard throw-catch-run to Rueben Randle. It shocked the Stadium and the opponent and provided a much-needed boost to the LSU offense. LSU piled up 338 of its 433 yards in the second half and the passing opened up the running game later on.

The defense reasserted itself. Defensive tackle Drake Nevis rebounded from being snuffed out against Auburn. He had seven tackles, forced a key fumble and also forced at least one holding call with his quickness. He didn't exactly dominate the game but his presence was a factor. LSU won the turnover battle 2-0 with linebacker Kelvin Sheppard getting a fumble recovery and an interception, along with seven tackles.

The Tigers also managed to survive losing three starters in the first half and another in the second half for the remainder of the game.

Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneLSU's Rueben Randle celebrates his long touchdown against Alabama on Saturday.

Player of the GameRueben Randle, who caught three passes for 125 yards, including the 75-yard score which changed the tone of the game. Alabama was leading only 7-3 at the time but LSU had none nothing with its offense until then.

Randle had earlier dropped a nice throw from Jefferson on what would have been a huge gainer in the second quarter. This time he lined up in a trips set to the left of the formation between James Wright on the outside and Russell Shepard on the inside.

It was an option route. Wright and Randle both ran go patterns straight up the field but when Alabama safety Mark Barron stayed back, Randle broke across the middle at the 37-yard line. Shepard ran a bubble route toward the sideline, pulling two defenders from the middle of the field and clearing the way for the throw, which went behind linebacker Don't'a Hightower as he moved left.

Randle caught the ball at the 45 with Barron still 5 yards away, and Randle did a great job of angling toward the sideline to turn the corner on Barron. Jefferson has to be commended because he took a big hit from end Marcell Dareus, who was hardly touched as he blew past backup right tackle Greg Shaw and running back Spencer Ware.

Offensive play of the gameTight end Deangelo Peterson's 23-yard run on a double-pitch reverse on fourth-and-1 at the Alabama 26. The long touchdown pass was big, but this one grabbed the spotlight and deservedly so.

LSU has never run this play before. Miles called a timeout to get the right personnel into the game and was so conscious of Alabama suspecting a trick play, he had tight end Tyler Edwards fake a leg injury and immediately have trainers start working on him to make it appear sending Mitch Joseph into the game was an injury substitution.

Peterson lined up behind Chase Clement on the right side of the formation, went in motion to the left and then back to the right, stopping behind Clement. The play began as a short toss to Steven Ridley running behind Clement and fullback James Stampley. Ridley is then supposed to look for a hole. LSU runs it several times a game and Alabama was probably expecting it.

Peterson took two steps forward then reversed field to the left. Ridley pitched it to him going the other way. On the left side of the formation, Joseph ignored Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw, who roared in toward Ridley, but he ran himself right out of the play. Peterson got the ball at the 31 and had Jefferson blocking for him and no Alabama defender in sight.

Peterson angled to the corner while Jefferson wiped out Barron with a nice body block at the 10-yard line. Peterson probably could have scored if he cut back past cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who dove at him low, but Peterson said he wanted to make sure he didn't fumble.

Defensive play of the gameDrake Nevis' sack and forced fumble, recovered by Kelvin Sheppard, to set up a field goal and give LSU a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Nevis had a strong game after being a non-factor against Auburn. He didn't make every play but was a handful for the Alabama offensive line.

Nevis made the play through great effort. He simply blew past center William Vlachos and while he was stumbling to the ground toward quarterback Greg McElroy, he reached up with his left hand and somehow made contact with the ball, knocking it out of McElroy's grasp. He then held onto McElroy and shielded him from the ball while Sheppard came around the other said to make the recovery.

The play happened so fast, I had assumed McElroy just dropped the ball, even after seeing the TV replays. Nevis just kind of threw his left arm up in the air while falling to the ground. He could easily have used his left arm to help break his fall. It was an amazing show of his presence of mind and exhibits the value of exerting 100 percent effort to the last second of a play.

Special teams play of the gameJosh Jasper's 29-yard run on a fourth-and-1 fake punt in the third quarter. Although it resulted in a missed field goal, it allowed LSU to possess the ball a little longer and changed field position as much as a punt would have.

The LSU coaching staff must have spotted something in game film because the play could have been sniffed out. LSU was punting from its 35-yard line, normally a spot for long-range punter Derek Helton. Jasper is the pooch punter but had kicked twice previously in the game. Apparently, he's a better runner than Helton.

LSU protectors line up in front of Jasper with Josh Dworaczyk to the left and Chase Clement to his left, stacked behind Mitch Joseph. There was no hesitation, in fact, Jasper was running left before the snap got to him and the three blockers moved in front of him unison, like an old-fashioned Green Bay Packer power sweep.

The line was in a tight formation rather than having the gunners spread wide. The key to the play was the left side. LSU's left gunner Alfred Blue, and to his right Barkevious Mingo and Spencer Ware broke inside at the snap, bringing Alabama defenders with them in the opposite direction of the run. John Fulton, lined up in front of Blue pushed him to the inside and Bama's Hardie Buck, unknowingly, continued blocking Blue to the right while the play had long been moving left.

Fulton was the first defender to realize this and he spun back to the left, but Clement was waiting for him and forced him downfield where LSU had three blocking one. Dworaczyk easily pushed the 179-pound Fulton downfield. Jasper cut behind Dowraczyk at the 50, and Eddie Lacy came up from behind and got an arm on Jasper at the 45, but Jasper spun away from him to pick up 14 more yards. Carson Tinker finally brought him down.

Oops playRon Brooks nearly gave Alabama a huge break when a bounding punt hit him in the leg. Had Alabama recovered, it would have had a first down at the LSU 23.

Punt returner Patrick Peterson was trying desperately to clear off LSU blockers since the same thing had happened earlier in the season with the Tigers losing the ball. The ball bounced sideways from Peterson right to left and after the second bounce hit Brooks on the foot just as he turned around to heed the warning.

Credit Brooks with great awareness because three Alabama defenders had a better shot at the ball since they were facing the play. He outfought them all for what had to be the most important fumble recovery of the game. LSU went on to drive 77 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneJordan Jefferson had a big game for LSU against Alabama.

Quarterback reportLSU signal callers didn't dominate the game, and pass for pass, Greg McElroy was better. But Jefferson and Lee did not drag the offense down as it has in nearly every other game. No interceptions and few bad passes. Both quarterbacks made big plays, mostly in the second half.

The LSU coaches showed great confidence by allowing Jefferson to throw on first down from the LSU 6 and Jefferson responded. He waited for Kirkpatrick to break on Ware coming out of the backfield while Terrence Toliver slipped into the hole behind Kirkpatrick and Jefferson dropped it in.

Jefferson also should be credited with throwing a great pass to Randle which he dropped late in the first half. Randle was open and while the pass was a little high, it was catchable. The point is, Jefferson has a bad habit of underthrowing deep passes because of a lack of conviction but judging from that throw, his confidence was brimming throughout the game.

Jefferson also showed good poise on a 12-yard completion to Toliver and apparently the coaches noticed. They stuck with Jefferson after the touchdown pass rather than continuing the rotation pattern with Lee. Jefferson took 51 of the 64 snaps between the two quarterbacks and only came out in the second half when he was shaken up on a hard hit by Damion Square after an option pitch.

That brings us to Lee's big contribution. He came in cold in the fourth quarter and showed some poise in the pocket on his second play. LSU was facing a third-and-13 at its own 20 and needed to hold onto the ball. Alabama had a good rush but Lee stepped up in the pocket between Darrington Sentimore and Courtney Upshaw. When he did that, defensive back DeMarcus Milliner reacted toward the line of scrimmage while Randle ran past him.

Shepard ran a post to pull the safety to the middle and Peterson ran a bubble toward the sideline. Randle was wide open and caught the ball just across midfield. He probably would have scored had he cut inside of teammate Richard Murphy trying to block.

The rest of Lee's day wasn't so good. His other three completions totaled 20 yards. One throw should have been intercepted by Milliner when Lee got skittish in the pocket, hesitated and threw off balance for Murphy, who was well covered on the sideline. Another pass on a crossing pattern was behind Shepard and nearly intercepted after being deflected high in the air.

Shepard rollsRussell Shepard broke his first big run since his 30-yard scoring jaunt against Vanderbilt in game 2. LSU threw a bit of a curveball at Bama on this one.

Shepard was lined up alone on the right side of the formation and went in motion to take the jet sweep handoff. Normally the play is run with Shepard in the backfield or in the slot between two players. Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick knew something was up and tried to signal his teammates just before the play started. Too late.

Shepard took the handoff and got a shield block from Chase Clement at the line. When he got to the corner, Toliver and Randle held their blocks on Milliner and Robert Lester, creating a perfect crease. Shepard blew through it and linebacker Chavis Williams followed him through, that's how clean the blocking was.

Safety Mark Barron was the only player with a shot and he caught Shepard from behind. Shepard said he is sure to get plenty of grief from his teammates about getting caught. But the play set up a field goal to bring LSU within 14-13.

Patrick vs. JulioAlabama wide receiver Julio Jones caught 10 passes for 89 yards but was held without a big play as in last year's game. LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson had him most of the time. His longest reception was 19 yards on a beautiful back shoulder throw on fade pattern. Peterson had Jones guarded as well as he possibly could have.

Another great throw by McElroy came on Alabama's final touchdown, a 9-yard slant on third and goal. Peterson was right there but McElroy threw the ball high and Jones used his height (6-4), leaping ability and strong hands to pull in the throw. Jones also picked up 6-yards after stiff-arming Peterson out of a tackle.

But Peterson did a credible job guarding and tackling Jones and broke up three passes. Outside of the 19-yard catch, he averaged 7.8 yards on the other nine. Peterson was called for interference on a play that was ruled incomplete via the replay official, but it appears the two players got their legs tangled up. It should have been a no call.

Peterson also made a great effort to prevent Richardson from scoring the first touchdown on a 1-yard pass. Peterson met him short of the goal line and was using his weight to pull him away as they two wrestled toward the sideline, but Richardson stuck the ball out with his arm at the last second and it passed just above the goal line.

Didja noticeAlabama running back Trent Richardson had only one carry for 5 yards after being injured when caught a 1-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. . . Alabama used its wildcat formation only three times, once with Richardson. The three plays netted 8 yards. . . LSU forced three fumbles but recovered only one. . . LSU had a season high 10 passes broken up, three by Peterson and two by Keke Mingo. . . McElroy's first quarter interception was only his fourth of the season.

Notes and observations

First quarter: Mingo got a breakup when he reached out at the last minute and hit McElroy's arm, forcing the ball into the ground short of the receiver. . . LSU tried to catch Alabama napping on the first possession by quick snapping the first three plays, the last of which was supposed to be a halfback pass from Ridley to Toliver. Although Alabama wasn't set for the play, they had two defenders on Toliver, forcing Ridley to run out of bounds for a loss. . .Tyrann Mathieu used his quickness to get in front of Preston Dial and tip the pass which was intercepted by Sheppard. . . Pep Levingston and Drake Nevis had a shot at a fumble recovery at the Alabama 25. Nevis knocked the ball out of bounds when he dove for it. . . Alabama picked up an important first down on a 6-yard pass to Jones against Peterson. On the play, Marquis Maze was wide open for a touchdown because LSU safety Brandon Taylor's leg gave out when he tried to change direction and he crumpled to the turf without being touched. McElroy was looking at Jones the whole time. . . Nevis nearly sacked McElroy but he threw the ball away as he was going down. . . Ridley showed feel like Emmitt Smith when he picked up 9 yards by cutting between two defenders and spinning away from Kirkpatrick.

Second quarter: Ryan Baker was caught in a run blitz and Kelvin Shepard got blocked inside on Bama's longest run, a 22-yarder just before the first touchdown . . . Baker met Richardson head on for no gain from the 1-yard line on second down, one play before the score. . . At the end of an option run, Jefferson pitched the ball to Michael Ford who was standing out of bounds. . . Jefferson showed poise and patience, waiting for Toliver to clear for a 12-yard completion and then throwing the ball away high when blitzed by Dont'a Hightower and C.J. Mosley . . . Josh Chapman got Bama's only sack when he split T-Bob Hebert and P.J. Lonergan and Lee never had a chance. Hebert appeared to be hobbling on the play. . . Baker knocked Jones off his crossing route to help prevent a third-and-4 conversion as Jones was tackled by Peterson after a 2 yard gain. . . Ron Brooks got away with a blatant block in the back on Kirkpatrick during a punt. . . Mark Ingram cost his team a 24-yard gain when he grabbed blitzing Tyrann Mathieu's jersey from behind when Mathieu had no chance to make a play. . . Center William Vlachos prevented a sack by holding Nevis on a third-down incompletion. LSU declined the penalty. McElroy was trying to throw a screen to Ingram but had to ground it because Mathieu was on Ingram and Baker cut in front of him for a possible interception.

Third quarter: Jefferson made another good decision to run for 11 yards when his receivers were covered on a roll out, faking out Dareus by dipping his shoulder. . . LSU got a delay penalty even though umpire W. Hackett stood over the ball just before the play clock ran out, preventing LSU from snapping it. . . Morris Claiborne left the game with a possible concussion when teammate Craig Loston's knee hit him in the head. . . Peterson made a great break on the ball on a slant to Jones. . . Alabama went after freshman corner Tharold Simon, in for Claiborne on two consecutive plays. Maze had Simon beaten deep on one play but McElroy overthrew the ball. Simon then broke up a throw to Jones, which could have been called interference with an official a few feet away looking right at the play. . . Nevis shoved Vlachos into the backfield to force a no gain for Ingram. . . Stefoin Francois and Eric Reed got blocked off the corner as Ingram cruised into the end zone untouched on a 5-yard scoring run. . . Jefferson beat a blitz with a swing pass to Murphy, but Murphy was unable to make a play. He looked slow and had blocking but couldn't beat Barron.

Fourth quarter: It was Tyrann Mathieu who forced a fumble by Maze on the kickoff following Jasper's second field goal. . . LSU gets foxy with its blitzes. Sheppard faked a blitz, drawing guard Chance Warmack's attention but Baker came on a delay and ran right by Warmack looking the other way. . . Ridley made a great move in the backfield on tackle Damion Square and turned the corner on a blitzing Barron for an 19-yard gain. . . LSU caught Alabama shifting defenders and ran to the side with fewer people as Ridley got 19 yards. He made a great cut and faked out Lester while getting key blocks from Clement and James Stampley. . . Left tackle Joseph Barksdale moved to the right side next to right tackle Greg Shaw on LSU's first down goal line play. . . On Ridley's touchdown, tight end Tyler Edwards submarined Sentimore and Barron came over the top to hit Ridley in the backfield. But Ridley twisted to the right and had just enough room to get in. . . Barron nearly blew up the two-point play when he knocked Shepard into Randle's path but Jefferson did a great job of drilling the ball between Barron and Lester. Shepard ended up wide open in the back of the end zone. . . On kickoff following Ridley touchdown, Mathieu run down Jones from behind. . . Baker apparently blew a coverage allowing a 19-yard completion to Dial to get Alabama's last touchdown drive going. . . On the game's final play, Jones caught a short pass and pitched it to Darius Hanks. Then LSU's Ken Adams blasted Jones from behind as he ran down field.